Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
